Apple: Pre-orders of iPhone 4S Break Record

More than 1 million consumers in seven countries ordered Apple Inc's latest phone, the iPhone 4S, in the first day, beating the company's previous record despite complaints from fans when the product was unveiled.

Shares of Apple rose nearly 4 percent on Monday after it said that iPhone 4S preorders on Friday surpassed its previous one-day record of 600,000 sales for last year's iPhone 4, which started sales in five countries.

The strong sales report was in contrast to complaints from some iPhone fans when Apple announced the phone on Tuesday. Many had hoped for a full redesign of the phone, which has new software and a faster chip but looks like the iPhone 4.

"It had everything people wanted," said Hudson Square analyst Daniel Ernst. "The market was disappointed, but the customers looked past the headline to see the content of the device itself."

Preorders started about a day after Apple announced the death of co-founder Steve Jobs. Analysts said last week that some consumers could buy the device to commemorate the technology industry icon.

But another analyst, Colin Gillis of BGC Partners, said Apple still has a long way to go to meet Wall Street sales expectations.

"It's not the first million," said Gillis. "We know there's a large, loyal base of users. They need to sell more than 20 million of these in this quarter to hit estimates.

"Apple needs to break records to hit expectations."

In the United States, three carriers are selling the latest phone, with Sprint Nextel joining AT&T Inc and Verizon Wireless as an iPhone seller for the first time.

In Japan, Apple also added KDDI as a distributor.

AT&T said on Friday that the 4S was its most successful iPhone introduction ever. The company, which had exclusive U.S. rights to sell iPhone for more than three years, took more than 200,000 preorders for the 4S in the first 12 hours alone.

The phone will hit stores in seven countries — the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan and the United Kingdom — on Friday. It will be available in 22 countries by the end of October, Apple said.

Apple shares were up 3.7 percent at $383.60 in morning Nasdaq trading.

More than 1 million consumers in seven countries ordered Apple Inc's latest phone, the iPhone 4S, in the first day, beating the company's previous record despite complaints from fans when the product was unveiled.
Shares of Apple rose nearly 4 percent on Monday after it...